pinduoduo

Pinduoduo was founded in 2015 by Chinese businessman and software engineer Colin Huang and initially focused on the agriculture industry.{{Cite news |last=Kharpal |first=Arjun |date=22 April 2020 |title=Everything you need to know about Pinduoduo, the fast-growing rival to Alibaba and JD in China |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/what-is-pinduoduo-chinese-ecommerce-rival-to-alibaba.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703084041/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/22/what-is-pinduoduo-chinese-ecommerce-rival-to-alibaba.html |archive-date=3 July 2020 |access-date=1 July 2020 |work=CNBC |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Liao |first=Rita |date=3 December 2021|title=Why Pinduoduo is putting all its profit into agriculture |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/03/pinduoduo-puts-profit-into-agriculture/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827022903/https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/03/pinduoduo-puts-profit-into-agriculture/ |archive-date=27 August 2022 |access-date=27 August 2022 |work=TechCrunch}} It developed at a time when Alibaba and JD had significantly consolidated the Chinese e-commerce market and many analysts believed there was limited room for new market entrants.{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Lizhi |title=From Click to Boom: The Political Economy of E-Commerce in China |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780691254104}}{{Rp|page=45}}

On 7 June 2018, Legal Evening News reported that Pinduoduo investigated and shut down stores and removed listings that violated its platform policy against pornography and violence, following an earlier report by the newspaper.{{Cite web |date=2018-06-07 |title=Why did Pinduoduo respond? Close the store involved and remove the illegal products from the shelves |url=http://www.sohu.com/a/234409814_114774 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140001/http://www.sohu.com/a/234409814_114774 |archive-date=2018-06-12 |access-date=2018-09-20 |website=Sohu |language=zh-hans}}

On 20 January 2019, Pinduoduo reported to the police theft by hackers that exploited a loophole in their system and stole tens of millions of Yuan worth of vouchers.{{Cite news |title=Hackers Take Coupons Worth Tens of Millions of Yuan on Pinduoduo |date=20 January 2019|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-20/hackers-take-coupons-worth-tens-of-millions-of-yuan-on-pinduoduo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617043001/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-20/hackers-take-coupons-worth-tens-of-millions-of-yuan-on-pinduoduo |archive-date=2019-06-17 |access-date=21 August 2020 |work=Bloomberg News}}

During the initial COVID-19 lockdown in China in 2020, Pinduoduo started a program to assist rural Chinese farmers with selling their produce to customers online instead of relying on traditional in-person marketplaces.{{Cite magazine |last=Mullin |first=Kyle |date=7 June 2021 |title=China's Quiet Ecommerce Giant Thrives on Fresh Produce |url=https://www.wired.com/story/chinas-quiet-ecommerce-giant-thrives-fresh-produce/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310163517/https://www.wired.com/story/chinas-quiet-ecommerce-giant-thrives-fresh-produce/ |archive-date=10 March 2023 |access-date=4 March 2023 |magazine=Wired}} In August 2020, Pinduoduo launched Duo Duo Maicai, a service which enables consumers to preorder groceries for pickup at designated locations.{{Cite news |last=Bala |first=Sumathi |date=17 November 2020 |title=China's Pinduoduo expects online grocery sales to double this year |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/17/chinas-pinduoduo-expects-online-grocery-sales-to-double-this-year-.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217131352/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/17/chinas-pinduoduo-expects-online-grocery-sales-to-double-this-year-.html |archive-date=17 February 2021 |access-date=13 January 2021 |work=CNBC |language=en}}

Pinduoduo generated RMB 4.17 trillion (US$590 billion) gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2021.{{Cite web |title=Global: top online marketplaces by GMV 2023 |url=https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1456497/top-online-fashion-marketplaces-by-gmv |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Statista |language=en}}

In September 2022, Pinduoduo's sister's company, Temu, was launched in the U.S. by PDD Holdings.{{Cite news |last=Fan |first=Cafe |date=10 November 2022 |title=Will battle for US consumer wallets intensify with latest contender Temu? |url=https://technode.com/2022/11/10/will-battle-for-us-consumer-wallets-intensify-with-latest-contender-temu/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129035908/https://technode.com/2022/11/10/will-battle-for-us-consumer-wallets-intensify-with-latest-contender-temu/ |archive-date=29 November 2022 |access-date=29 November 2022 |work=TechNode}}{{Cite news |last1=Lu |first1=Shen |last2=Huang |first2=Raffaele |date=2022-09-02 |title=China's Pinduoduo Quietly Launches U.S. E-Commerce Site Temu |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-pinduoduo-quietly-launches-u-s-e-commerce-site-temu-11662131454 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903235847/https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-pinduoduo-quietly-launches-u-s-e-commerce-site-temu-11662131454 |archive-date=2022-09-03 |access-date=2022-09-04 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news |last=Liao |first=Rita |date=20 September 2022 |title=Amazon's latest challenger is China's online dollar store Pinduoduo |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/20/pinduoduo-china-overseas-expansion/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922034534/https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/20/pinduoduo-china-overseas-expansion/ |archive-date=22 September 2022 |access-date=22 September 2022 |work=TechCrunch}}

In 2023, PDD Holdings changed its legal domicile from Shanghai to Dublin.{{Cite web |last=Maruf |first=Ramishah |date=2023-06-28 |title=Shein sent American influencers to China. Social media users are furious |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/business/shein-influencers-brand-trip-china-hnk-intl/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629014521/https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/28/business/shein-influencers-brand-trip-china-hnk-intl/index.html |archive-date=2023-06-29 |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=CNN |language=en}}

The key trends for Pinduoduo are (as of the financial year ending 31 December):{{Cite web |title=Pinduoduo Inc. - AnnualReports.com |url=https://www.annualreports.com/Company/pinduoduo-inc |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.annualreports.com}}

Pinduoduo has been significantly criticised in domestic Chinese media for selling shanzhai products.{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Angela Huyue |title=High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780197682258}}{{Rp|page=34}} The company responded with an open letter stating that it had, in a single week in August, shut down 1,128 stores, taken down more than 4 million listings, and blocked 450,000 suspected counterfeit goods listings from being published.{{Cite news |last=Soo |first=Zen |date=23 August 2018 |title=Pinduoduo removes millions of suspected fake listings after stock plunges |url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2160972/pinduoduo-strengthens-anti-counterfeit-measures-stock-takes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707054616/https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2160972/pinduoduo-strengthens-anti-counterfeit-measures-stock-takes |archive-date=7 July 2020 |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

After it was listed on the U.S. Nasdaq stock exchange in 2018, China's State Administration for Market Regulation announced probes into the firm based on reports of counterfeit materials available on the platform.{{Cite news |last=Goh |first=Brenda |date=1 August 2018 |title=China to probe e-commerce firm Pinduoduo over reports of fake goods |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pinduoduo/china-to-probe-e-commerce-firm-pinduoduo-over-reports-of-fake-goods-idUSKBN1KM3FQ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706063931/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pinduoduo/china-to-probe-e-commerce-firm-pinduoduo-over-reports-of-fake-goods-idUSKBN1KM3FQ |archive-date=6 July 2020 |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{Rp|page=34}} Pinduoduo responded by intensifying efforts to remove counterfeit materials from its store.{{Rp|page=208}} According to the company, it removed over 10.7 million suspicious items and blocked 40 million suspicious links on its platforms.{{Rp|page=208}} Pinduoduo sought to reassure customers by stating that it would compensate customers with ten times the value of any counterfeit item found to have been sold through the platform.{{Rp|page=208}} This was three times as much as the compensation mandated by China's Consumer Protection Law.{{Rp|page=208}}

Pinduoduo also introduced a penalty on sellers of items under which it would freeze ten times the trading volume of any item found to be counterfeit.{{Rp|page=208}} One thousand sellers responded with a protest in July 2018 at the company's headquarters, during which there were physical clashes with the company's security guards.{{Rp|page=208}} Sellers have also challenged Pinduoduo's penalty in court, but as of at least 2021 Pinduoduo won a significant majority of these cases.{{Rp|page=208}}

In April 2019, Pinduoduo was first named in the Office of the United States Trade Representative's list of Notorious Markets for Counterfeit Products and Piracy.{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2019 |title=USTR Releases Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection and Review of Notorious Markets for Piracy and Counterfeiting |url=http://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2019/april/ustr-releases-annual-special-301 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402124143/https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2019/april/ustr-releases-annual-special-301 |archive-date=2023-04-02 |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=United States Trade Representative |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Kanishka |date=2022-02-18 |title=U.S. adds e-commerce sites operated by Tencent, Alibaba to 'notorious markets' list |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-adds-e-commerce-sites-operated-by-tencent-alibaba-notorious-markets-list-2022-02-17/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219150728/https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-adds-e-commerce-sites-operated-by-tencent-alibaba-notorious-markets-list-2022-02-17/ |archive-date=2022-02-19 |access-date=2022-02-18 |work=Reuters |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=USTR Releases 2021 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy |url=http://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2022/february/ustr-releases-2021-review-notorious-markets-counterfeiting-and-piracy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219145352/https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2022/february/ustr-releases-2021-review-notorious-markets-counterfeiting-and-piracy |archive-date=2022-02-19 |access-date=2022-02-18 |website=United States Trade Representative |language=en}} {{As of|2023}}, Pinduoduo remains listed as a notorious market.{{Cite web |date=January 31, 2023 |title=USTR Releases 2022 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy |url=http://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2023/january/ustr-releases-2022-review-notorious-markets-counterfeiting-and-piracy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904103907/https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2023/january/ustr-releases-2022-review-notorious-markets-counterfeiting-and-piracy |archive-date=2023-09-04 |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=United States Trade Representative |language=en}}

The company also disclosed that it had removed 500,715 items and closed more than 40 stores as of February 4, 2020, to protect consumers from counterfeit and substandard masks being sold by merchants hoping to profit amid the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Emma |date=6 February 2020 |title=E-commerce firms cracking down on sellers of fake protective masks |url=https://technode.com/2020/02/06/e-commerce-firms-cracking-down-on-sellers-of-fake-protective-masks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707015300/https://technode.com/2020/02/06/e-commerce-firms-cracking-down-on-sellers-of-fake-protective-masks/ |archive-date=7 July 2020 |access-date=6 July 2020 |work=TechNode}}

In 2023, Google removed Pinduoduo's app from the Play Store after a Chinese cybersecurity firm found malware in app versions carried in Chinese app stores.{{Cite news |last1=Leong |first1=Clarence |last2=Purnell |first2=Newley |date=2023-03-21 |title=Google Halts Download of Chinese App Pinduoduo Over Security Concerns |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-halts-download-of-chinese-app-pinduoduo-over-security-concerns-d0b22470 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321111914/https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-halts-download-of-chinese-app-pinduoduo-over-security-concerns-d0b22470 |archive-date=2023-03-21 |access-date=2023-06-25 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web |date=22 March 2023 |title=Google Suspends Chinese E-Commerce App Pinduoduo Over Malware |url=https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/03/google-suspends-chinese-e-commerce-app-pinduoduo-over-malware/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405093408/https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/03/google-suspends-chinese-e-commerce-app-pinduoduo-over-malware/ |archive-date=2023-04-05 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=Krebs on Security |language=en-US}} Two days after releasing an update to address concerns, Pinduoduo disbanded the team of engineers and product managers who had developed the exploits. A majority of the team was transferred to Temu, working in various departments.

Six cybersecurity teams interviewed by CNN – including Finnish, Russian, US, and Israeli firms – as well as Chinese cybersecurity firm DarkNavy, all labeled Pinduoduo as malware or potential malware.{{Cite web |last1=Gan |first1=Nectar |last2=Xiong |first2=Yong |last3=Liu |first3=Juliana |date=2023-04-02 |title='I've never seen anything like this:' One of China's most popular apps has the ability to spy on its users, say experts |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405022038/https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/02/tech/china-pinduoduo-malware-cybersecurity-analysis-intl-hnk/index.html |archive-date=2023-04-05 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=CNN |language=en}} In a report by Bloomberg News, a researcher from Kaspersky Labs stated the following: "Some versions of the Pinduoduo app contained malicious code, which exploited known Android vulnerabilities to escalate privileges, download and execute additional malicious modules, some of which also gained access to users' notifications and files".{{Cite web |last=Zheng |first=Sarah |date=27 March 2023 |title=Pinduoduo App Malware Detailed by Cybersecurity Researchers |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-27/pinduoduo-app-malware-detailed-by-cybersecurity-researchers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328180700/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-27/pinduoduo-app-malware-detailed-by-cybersecurity-researchers |archive-date=2023-03-28 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Bloomberg News |publisher=}}

Pinduoduo maintains a data sharing agreement with a unit of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.{{Cite news |last=Cadell |first=Cate |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Report: China's propaganda units harvest data from overseas tech firms |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/05/01/china-data-propaganda-aspi-report/ |access-date=May 2, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

In 2024, the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that Pinduoduo sued several former employees for violating non-compete clauses. The evidence Pinduoduo submitted to court includes video recordings of the former employees going to work for Pinduoduo's rivals. The company said it does not "engage in any illegal or unethical surveillance practices of current or former employees."{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2024 |title=Ex-workers at Temu owner PDD suffer surveillance and financial ruin over non-competes |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d40cd7a9-24c7-4bae-91b6-ae74b54e5978 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Financial Times |archive-date=2024-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311013907/https://www.ft.com/content/d40cd7a9-24c7-4bae-91b6-ae74b54e5978 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Lu |first1=Shen |last2=Huang |first2=Raffaele |date=April 1, 2024 |title=Ex-Workers at Temu Parent Say Noncompete Penalties Crush Their Finances |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinese-e-commerce-giant-squeezes-workers-with-noncompete-agreements-809e803c |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-04-02 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401192307/https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinese-e-commerce-giant-squeezes-workers-with-noncompete-agreements-809e803c |url-status=live }}

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Category:2018 initial public offerings

Category:Chinese brands

Category:Chinese companies established in 2015

Category:Companies based in Dublin (city)

Category:Companies based in Shanghai

Category:Internet properties established in 2015

Category:Notorious markets

Category:Online marketplaces of China

Category:2015 establishments in Shanghai

Category:Retail companies established in 2015